PRESS RELEASE - Boys in blue – for breast cancer charity!

Breast cancer charity Walk the Walk has listened and is bringing some much needed blue into the otherwise very pink world of breast cancer awareness.

Giles Cooper and Dave Talbot, who have both had breast cancer,wear the new MoonWalk t-shirts

Breast cancer charity Walk the Walk has listened and is bringing some much needed blue into the otherwise very pink world of breast cancer awareness.

Hundreds of men taking part in the charity's iconic MoonWalks in London and Scotland will be given specially designed t-shirts – featuring for the very first time, a blue checked bra!

The striking new t-shirts, which feature the message "men get breast cancer too!" are part of Walk the Walk's campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer in men and to encourage men to check themselves regularly. Three hundred and fifty* men a year are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK. However, many cases are discovered very late and 80* men a year die of the disease.

As part of their campaign Walk the Walk recently brought together six men, who have all had breast cancer, believed to be the largest group of men with breast cancer ever to gather in the UK. The charity acted on the men's feedback that breast cancer charities need to be a little less pink.

Giles Cooper from Gloucestershire was diagnosed with breast cancer after both his father and uncle had died of the disease and is delighted with the new t-shirts: "The blue bra T shirts are a fantastically poignant symbol that men too can get breast cancer. Thank you Walk the Walk for helping us to get the message out there!"

Retired police officer Dave Talbot from Bristol has also been treated for breast cancer. He said: "It's great to see Walk the Walk recognise that Breast Cancer can affect men as well as women and the new 'Blue Bra' T-Shirt is brilliant!"

Walk the Walk is hoping to encourage more men to sign up for its fundraising MoonWalks, which involve thousands of women and men power walking marathons at Midnight wearing brightly decorated bras. Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk said:

"We're so passionate at Walk the Walk about raising the awareness that men can get breast cancer too. We hope that these new T shirts, which will be exclusively for all our MoonWalking men, will help to spread this incredibly important message to even more people. If the "blue bra" can persuade one more man to check himself for symptoms, one more woman to persuade the men in her life to get themselves checked out - it will have been a success. Breast cancer affects both men and women, so let's get even more men signing up for a MoonWalk this year and create an incredible sea of blue and pink!"

Walk the Walk has raised more than £121 million since 1996, with the money granted funding both research into breast cancer and to help improve the lives of those living with cancer now.

Don't miss The MoonWalk London on Saturday 12th May and The MoonWalk Scotland on Saturday 9th June! Power Walk through the streets of London or Edinburgh at Midnight wearing a decorated bra, to raise money and awareness for breast cancer charity, Walk the Walk. Sign up now: www.walkthewalk.org

Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive, set up and now runs Walk the Walk Worldwide.

Walk the Walk specialises in fitness and Power Walking challenges.

HRH The Prince of Wales is the official Patron of Walk the Walk.

As a grant-making charity, all funds are raised for Walk the Walk and then granted to where the charity feels they will do the most good.

Walk the Walk funds are granted to projects that not only support research, important to all our future health, but also support a variety of projects that are supporting cancer patients now throughout the UK.

To date grants have been made to charities and organisations throughout the UK including Breast Cancer Now, The Breast Cancer Haven, Penny Brohn UK and hundreds of NHS Hospitals and Trusts for which we supply Scalp Cooling Systems.

Walk the Walk also has a community grant fund which each year grants to smaller organisations. Helen Rollason Cancer Charity, Tenovus Cancer Care, The Christie, Cancer Kin, FACT and others all receive funds which enable them to continue their work.

In Scotland, Walk the Walk is the principal funder of the Maggie's Centre at Gartnavel, Glasgow and Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert. A grant was also made towards the Lanarkshire Centre in the grounds of Monklands Hospital in Airdrie. Maggie's Centres offer support to people diagnosed with all types of cancer, as well as providing emotional support for their families.

Walk the Walk has also funded the renovation of Ward 6, a new theatre and the renovation of the Mammography Unit at the Breast Cancer Institute at Edinburgh's Western General Hospital